On November 18, 1922, the front page of the newspaper L’Auto evokes for the first time the creation of an endurance race which will take place a few months later. A century later, the notoriety of the Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans is such that the biggest manufacturers in the world return every year, often with gigantic budgets, to defeat their adversaries. What racing driver hasn’t dreamed of competing in this legendary race? If some have triumphed on several occasions, it is often after having suffered numerous and cruel setbacks on this demanding circuit: the Hunaudières straight, the bends of Tertre rouge, Mulsanne, Arnage, the Dunlop curve are all famous places that make a victory at Le Mans can only be the fruit of long and meticulous preparation. Performance, speed, handling, braking, power, fuel consumption, lighting, safety… you don’t win at Le Mans by chance.
24 Hours of Le Mans: history retraces through exceptional and unpublished documents the most beautiful moments of this legendary race – from the first laps of the Lorraine-Dietrich circuit to the victories of major manufacturers such as Jaguar, Porsche or Audi -, we recounts the exploits of firms who compete in technological prowess and strategies and who hire the best drivers to race in the lead: Jacky Ickx, Henri Pescarolo, Jean Rondeau, heroes of a legendary event which is celebrating its 100th anniversary today .
Writer and sports historian, Henri Charpentier is an Olympic and Formula 1 enthusiast. Former top reporter and editor-in-chief at France Inter, he has covered the biggest sporting events and commented live on almost 130 Fl Grand Prix. Member of the ISOH (International Society of Olympic Historians), he lived the golden age of French pilots as close as possible to the tracks, collecting their confidences. He is the author of several books on sport.
Reporter-photographer specialized in motor sports, Bernard Bakalian covered 215 Formula 1 Grand Prix and was the photographer of four-time French world champion Alain Prost, whom he followed throughout his fantastic career, while rubbing shoulders with his famous teammates: Nikl Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Jean Alesi , Damon Hill. He has signed and participated in several books devoted to Formula 1.
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